Chapter 43
HEMMING
I t took an eternity to find our way back to Ariel’s bedroom.
The beast followed Shayfer and Eldrien, watching Ariel’s limp head loll about with every step the former took. It wasn’t until she was in her room and laid out on the bed that he relented his position; the moment he did, I stormed into the room to her bedside. Shayfer had peeled the sheets back and done his best to arrange her, but the moment he saw me approaching, he stepped away. Maybe it was the determination in my stride, the coil of my body, or the savage energy emanating from me that forced him to retreat, but both he and Eldrien quickly took up vigil near the door at the sight of me.
Even covered with a sheet, her injuries were evident and severe. Burns covered the majority of her body, some having eaten through to bone. The fact that she wasn’t screaming in agony was a blessing, but also a sign of her most insidious wound. My eyes slammed shut, trying to force away the memory of her lying limp in the dirt of the arena, reaching for me.
“Where is he?” I snapped at Shayfer as I paced the room like a caged animal. “Where is Vesstan?”
“You know as much as I do about his whereabouts or when he might come,” he said, looking at me from across the room. Guilt swam in his empty stare.
“It’s been thirty minutes,” Eldrien said. “I’m going to go find him.”
He headed for the door, but a knock stopped him short. Before he could open it, Kier burst through. His eyes narrowed with rage the second his eyes landed on Ariel. “How did this happen?” he asked as he pushed past Eldrien.
“A dragon,” he replied. “I still can’t explain?—”
“You wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t failed to uphold your part of the plan last night,” Kier snapped. “None of this would have happened.”
Shayfer stepped into the warrior's path, his own anger simmering. “If you think I have not played the events of that night over and over in my mind to see what we could have done differently, you would be mistaken.” Instead of retreating from Kier’s emanating rage, Shayfer leaned in closer. “I’m surprised you are not plagued with the same guilt I feel, given that you were no more help to her than we.”
“I was where I was supposed to be,” he snarled in return. “And if you think I would not give anything to trade places with her in an instant, you grossly underestimate how much I care for my daughter.”
“We all failed her,” Eldrien said, pushing between them, “but this isn’t the time to rehash those failures. We need another plan, and quickly.”
“Because that went so well the last time,” Kier countered, leveling the deadly stare I’d seen in his brother’s eyes so many times on the Minyade.
“Enough!” I shouted over the brewing fight. “Vesstan is to blame for this and no one else. Arguing about it is pointless and childish and doing nothing to help Ariel.”
Kier turned that accusatory look to me. “Says the one who claims to be her protector.”
Whatever thread of calm I was clinging to in that moment began to fray. With slow, measured steps, I stalked from the bed toward him. Eldrien and Shayfer stepped back, leaving Kier alone.
I stopped only inches away and stared him down, my hands balled into fists at my sides. “I don’t know what your daughter has told you about her and me, but allow me to share the real truth. Since the day Ariel arrived in Daglaar following her mother’s demise, I have worked tirelessly to keep her out of harm’s way, even when she insisted on putting herself in it. I have sacrificed everything I have and everything I am to ensure her safety—including my wings—and I will continue to do so until I no longer draw breath. I defied the laws of magic to escape the iron bonds keeping me from her when I knew death had her in its grasp, and I slayed the dragon tasked to deliver it.
“I wonder, Kier, where you were? Why your love for your daughter wasn’t strong enough to overcome the magical chains that bind you?” I asked as I pressed my finger against his silver collar. “Because I certainly did not see you swooping in to save her as the dragon snuffed her from the sky.” I leaned in closer so that he could feel my words. “I watched my whole life flash before me as she fell, and I will never forgive myself for not being there to catch her. But that does not mean that I will let you walk in here after a lifetime of absence and lay blame at our feet for what has happened. You were the one that convinced her she could kill Vesstan. You helped her craft the plan. You gave her the blade to dispatch him. If anyone here should bear the guilt of failure, it’s you. But I know better than anyone that Ariel is a woman of her own mind and has a heart bigger than all the Nychteride warriors combined. She made her choices to try to save those she loves, and I, unlike you, know her well enough to know that she did so knowing that she might have to shoulder the consequences alone.”
I pulled away to find his narrowed eyes glaring back at me. “I would have given anything to have been with her in Daglaar; to have raised her and kept her safe so you didn’t have to. As for the plan to kill Vesstan, I devised that because it was plain that she would never try to leave if I could not go with her.”
“You should have sacrificed yourself to spare her,” I countered. “That’s what I would have done—what I have done.” I leveled my eyes with his, hoping he could sense the beast pacing inside. “Do not ever question my actions when it comes to your daughter again, Kier, because they are driven by something far deeper than duty or blood—something that can never be compromised.”
His harsh stare softened as realization set in. “You love her…”
I looked past him to where her pale, motionless body lay and nodded. “From the moment I met her. That love has been the one unwavering constant in my life since that day.”
A faint whimper filled the sudden silence, and I rushed over to kneel beside her. “Ariel…can you hear me?” Damp waves clung to her face as her body fought to manage the injuries she’d sustained. I brushed them away with a delicate touch, careful not to graze the bruises swelling along her cheek and temple. “I need you to hold on a little longer, mikros drakos . This will be over soon. Just hold on... for me .”
Her brow furrowed, and a low, keening noise escaped her as she slept. Her bony wings fidgeted beneath the sheet Shayfer had arranged to cover them, making it rustle as her agitation grew.
“You want to make yourself useful?” I asked as I looked from the bed to her father. “Go find Vesstan. It’s time he makes good on his promise to heal her.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Kier countered.
The beast prowled just beneath the surface. “Then I’ll test your theory that only a god can kill another.”
He held my angry gaze for a moment, then turned to leave, hesitating as he stood in the doorway. “Vesstan cannot be trusted,” he said in a low, warning tone.
“And Ariel cannot survive without him, so we will have to take that chance.”
He looked back at me and nodded once before stepping into the hall and closing the door behind him.
“He’s right,” Shayfer said softly. “We cannot trust that this wasn’t the result Vesstan was hoping for—that it wasn’t all part of his machinations.”
“Be that as it may, you said yourself that we need him to heal her, that we had no other options. So Vesstan is our only choice.”
“He is,” Shayfer said as he sat down gently next to Ariel, “but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
“You lied,” Eldrien said softly, and I turned to find genuine hurt in his eyes. “You all lied to me. But why?”
Shayfer rose and walked over to the stunned Minyade, resting his hand on his shoulder. “It seemed necessary at the time. For her safety and ours.”
“Was she ever even Kaplyn’s prisoner?” he asked, his tone buried in disbelief. Shayfer’s mouth pressed to a grim line as he shook his head. Eldrien’s eyes drifted to the hand on his shoulder, then back to Shayfer. “I guess I shouldn't be so surprised,” he said, pulling away from the fae spy. “At your own admission, lying is what you do.” Sadness lingered in his deep blue eyes for a moment before he swallowed it down and straightened his spine as he turned to me. “Will he really fix her?” he asked as his gaze drifted to his broken Aima Kori . Though he tried to hold strong, sorrow crept back into his expression; whether it was for Ariel’s sake, or his people’s if she were to perish, I didn’t know.
Perhaps both.
Before anyone could hazard a guess, the door flew open and Vesstan strode through in a flourish of silvery-blue fabric, Thallen trailing behind him. Eldrien sidestepped toward Shayfer to form a wall between the haughty god and Ariel, but he looked past them like they were nothing in order to address me directly. “I’m assuming she’s still with us, given your demeanor.”
“She’s alive,” was all I could force past my gritted teeth.
“Well then, you are in luck, because to answer your question, Eldrien, I can indeed heal anything—except death. Not even I can undo that.”
“Then perhaps you should stop talking and do what you promised.”
At that, he smiled. “It must pain you greatly to know that you cannot help her,” he said as he slowly pushed between them to make his way to me. “That for all your brutish strength and fantastical ability, you are utterly impotent in this matter. That without me, she would wither away to nothing and die—and there would be nothing you could do to stop it.” He inched closer still, his head canted as he assessed me. “I can see the war within you right now. Your desire to rip me apart with your bare hands is so thinly surpassed by your need for her to live. I wonder, if she were to perish, if you wouldn’t from the heartache alone?—”
“I suppose it’s a good thing we won’t be finding that out tonight.”
The corner of his mouth curled malevolently as he pulled away. “I suppose it is. Now, are you going to step aside, or shall we let her get closer to death’s door before I get started?”
A warning growl slowly filled the room. “Do what you must, but know one thing: if you fail, I will ruin you, even if it is the last thing I do.”
“You would die trying, but I imagine that would soothe that noble beast inside of you. What love makes fools do…”
Without another word, he brushed past me to Ariel’s side. He tugged at the fingertips of his gloves until the black leather slid off his hands as he looked down upon her. “So beautiful,” he said in a faraway tone, “but so broken…” He stroked her cheek as though she were his lover, his touch gentle and caring. I moved to rip his arm away, but Shayfer was suddenly at my side, gripping my arm tightly as Vesstan bent over to whisper in Ariel’s ear. “I wonder if I shouldn’t leave a small token as a reminder of what your hubris got you.” He looked back at me, that malicious spark in his eyes as he smiled. “Of what happens when you cross the gods.”
Every muscle in my body coiled.
“Easy, Hemming,” Shayfer said softly.
“Yes, Hemming,” Vesstan taunted, “you should listen to your friend, or I’ll be forced to leave an even larger reminder on your beloved to serve as a cautionary tale to you both.” Shayfer pulled me back a pace or two. The god’s wicked smile grew wider still. “Excellent decision.”
While Vesstan unfastened his cloak and let it fall to the ground next to Ariel’s bed, Eldrien came to flank my left side as though he, too, was afraid I might try to interfere. The ancient god slowly lowered himself next to Ariel on the bed and drew back the sheet covering her feverish body. Even unconscious, she began to shiver violently in its absence.
“Interesting,” he mused under his breath as he took in the wreckage of her body. Burns and bruises covered most of her, peppered with cuts and gashes. Her braid had been singed off halfway up, leaving what remained of her hair splayed across the pillow, framing her damaged face.
And then there were her wings…
I turned away at the sight of them. Their corpse-like appearance was too great a reminder of what had happened. What could have happened.
“I don’t understand this,” Eldrien said softly. “The Minyades are immune to fire. It makes no sense.”
“Most fire, yes, but true dragon fire…that is something else entirely.”
Vesstan’s words drew my attention. “The Minyades are born of dragons,” I argued. “How can they be harmed by them?”
Genuine curiosity flashed in his eyes as he stared at me. “Is that what your history teaches you? How very interesting.” He rose, abandoning Ariel. “I wonder if anything any of you have ever been taught is actually true.”
“Perhaps now is not the time for a lesson in history,” Shayfer said in as cordial a tone as he could muster.
Vesstan’s eyes flared. “Or perhaps it is the perfect time because I say it is.”
“You made a promise, and even gods are bound by them?—”
“Unless that is another truth you believe that is false?—”
“—and by your own admission,” Shayfer continued, unfazed, “you cannot heal the dead, so perhaps the history lesson must wait.”
Vesstan hesitated for a moment, a scowl on his face, before he turned his attention back to Ariel. “She is strong,” he mused as his hand hovered over her body. “This amount of damage would have killed a lesser being?—”
“She is a warrior,” I said with a sense of pride.
“We shall see,” was his only response before his hand slid beneath her upper back just above where her wings attached and he closed his eyes. “Yes…I think I’ll start here.”
At first, nothing appeared to happen. There was no shift in the air, no flicker of light or crack of thunder, and Ariel still lay there, unconscious. But the moment Vesstan ripped his hand away from her, she shot up in bed, eyes wide.
And the scream she let loose nearly tore me to pieces.
I lunged toward her side, but Vesstan’s extended arm stopped me short. “Interfere and I shall leave her like this,” he said calmly over his shoulder while Eldrien and Shayfer dragged me away. “I thought I’d start with her fractured spine so that she could feel the full brunt of what happens to those that cross me.”
Ariel cried out as she writhed in the bed, her face contorted in agony.
My beast roared at her pain—and his inability to stop it. But even he seemed to understand that going after Vesstan would do nothing to help Ariel. At least not yet.
The moment the vicious god finished, though, was another story altogether.
“It’ll be over soon,” I ground out in a weak attempt to calm her.
“It will…if that is my decision,” Vesstan said, turning to pin hateful eyes on me. “I said I would heal her. I did not say that I would do it quickly.”
“You lying bastard,” Eldrien snapped.
“He did not lie, technically,” Shayfer corrected, “but the ‘bastard’ sentiment seems applicable nonetheless. Perhaps ‘cruel bastard’ would be more appropriate?—”
“I can’t…I can’t breathe,” Ariel said between panting breaths. “I can’t…”
“Please do try to stay with us for a moment, Ariel, because you won’t want to miss this next bit. And I do hate to repeat myself.” Vesstan gave her a pitying look, then smiled. “I agreed to heal her injuries for a price, so I’ll keep you in suspense no longer as to the cost”.
“You can tell us once you’re finished,” I said, straining against Shayfer’s and Eldrien’s hold.
“Ah, but I cannot, Hemming, because then I would lose all the leverage I now possess, and I am nothing if not efficient. So in the spirit of efficiency, I’ll lay this out for you plainly: you will all be bound by my magic in a way of my choosing.”
“No!” Ariel cried out. “You can’t?—”
“I hardly think you’re in a position to negotiate terms?—”
“Don’t do it!” Ariel shouted as she tried to drag herself from the bed. “I’ll be fine.”
“Not if I undo what I’ve already fixed,” Vesstan snapped back at her. Those piercing green eyes of hers went wide with horror. “That’s what I thought. Now, shall we proceed?”
She stared at us with tears in her eyes. She didn’t want us to go along with the god’s plan; but she knew she wouldn’t survive the alternative.
“Do what you must,” Shayfer answered for the three of us.
“Excellent.” Vesstan stepped up to Eldrien first and trailed his finger along the Minyade’s throat. “So that you can never fly,” he said softly. The second his hand pulled away, a silver choker appeared around Eldrien’s neck. He collapsed to his knees, clawing at the metal, and Shayfer rushed to his side. “I think not,” Vesstan said, snatching the fae before he could reach Eldrien. “So that your fae magic can never be used.” The moment those words were uttered, a similar choker appeared around Shayfer’s neck. He, unlike Eldrien, did not seem fazed by it. Vesstan cast an annoyed glance down at the red-faced male gasping for air on the floor and flicked his wrist at him. “There’s no need to be so dramatic.”
Eldrien coughed and wheezed as he attempted to regain his breath, while Shayfer helped him to his feet.
All the while, I just stood and stared at the petulant god as I awaited my fate.
He approached me slowly—almost cautiously—as though waiting for the beast to charge. Had it not been for Ariel, his appearance would have been imminent.
Vesstan dragged his fingertip along the gash he’d cut on my arm, healing it in an instant as he made his way to my throat. I caught his hand before he touched it. “I will make you regret this,” I said in an eerily calm tone.
His smile widened. “So that your beast remains caged,” he said, brushing the fingers of his other hand along my neck. My darkness raged as the cool metal encircled my throat, closing tightly around it.
Tears streamed down Ariel’s face at the sight.
“Heal her,” I said, my voice hoarse and strained against the magical collar.
Without a word, Vesstan walked back to Ariel and reached for her body. Fire flashed in her eyes as she glared at him, but she remained still as he placed his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes. I looked on in awe as the flesh that had been torched off her wings slowly filled in the space between the remaining bones. Her exposed cuts, bruises, and fractures all disappeared, leaving flawless skin framed by blood-red wings and long, wild hair when he was finished.
I’d never seen such a beautiful sight.
“I have kept my end of the bargain,” Vesstan said as his lustful eyes wandered over her body. She quickly snatched up the sheet to cover herself and fastened it around her chest. “Be ready at dawn—I have plans for you all.”
He turned to leave, but Ariel’s vengeful retort stopped him in his tracks. “You said you would let them go,” she said as she rose to follow.
“But you didn’t earn their freedom, did you?” Smoke billowed from her nostrils as she breathed hard, her anger building. “I wonder what collar I should give you?” Vesstan mused as he spun around and approached her again. “Ah, I know.” His finger trailed along her collarbone, and she slapped his hand away. “Perhaps, ‘so that you can never have what your heart desires most’…”
My breath caught in my throat as I waited for the silver choker to appear.
Instead, all I got was Vesstan’s unhinged laughter.“I think I prefer you this way, Ariel. I love seeing that fire of hope in your eyes.” His laughter cut off in an instant, and he leaned in close, his eyes darting between her and me. “But I love seeing it die even more.”